Transformers: End Times
by King-Sideswipe
Summary: (AU) Everything was as it should be with the world. That is until an unknown drug appears out of nowhere overnight and people all over the world are taking it. Only a few months of it being out, the world begins to dissolve into chaos as people begin to savagely tare each other apart with no mercy. (Complete summery made on Wattpad and doesn't fit so it's inside.)
1. Prologue

**Full summery:**

 _ **(AU) Everything was as it should be with the world. That is until an unknown drug appears out of nowhere overnight and people all over the world are taking it. Only a few months of it being out, the world begins to dissolve into chaos as people begin to savagely tare each other apart with no mercy.**_

 _ **Of course Carmen wouldn't know anything that is happening around her since she fell into a coma.**_

 _ **Upon waking up from a coma, she finds the world around her is shattered. She now sees things and hears things making her believe she is insane. She isn't sure what is a part of reality or what is her imagination, but what she does know is real is those who die always come back...**_

 _ **As Carmen comes to grip with her new life and with what the future now holds in store for the human race, her and her friends have to find a cure before all life on earth ceases to exist.**_

 _ **If there even is a cure...**_

 **So I don't have to say this in every chapter I DON'T OWN ANYTHING EXCEPT MY OCs AND THE PLOT! And just to make this clear, this story also WILL NOT go along with the movies. The first one happened, but that is it. As far as the second, third, and forth, Sam found the Allspark sliver and that was it. Also there will be both Autobots and Decepticons touching down, some of them won't be in the movies. In this story, the Allspark sliver was used to revive Jazz. That is the only thing related to RoTF, DoTM, and AoE. Rated PG-13 for blood, entrails (lots of both. It's a zombie story. What do you expect?), and language along with some crude sexual humor and mental instability. (Can't have a Sideswipe without the crude humor ;) Though I am still new to writing crude humor and I am afraid I might lose followers because of it...)**

 **At the beginning and end are supposed to be news broadcasts... You know, like the ones in movies and video games. I've never done that sort of thing before so some constructive criticism would be nice.**

 **Oh yeah, this is the rewrite of Is This The End. Vast improvement if I do say so myself.**

* * *

 _*kzzzzzkt!*_

 _-A new legal drug called Rock Salts-_

 _..._

 _-Sweeping the nation. It might have the name, but this stuff will do nothing to melt the ice on your driveway.-_

 _..._

 _-You can buy this new mysterious drug, that has seem to come out of nowhere, at any store and any age. Although it seems teenagers and early adults are the ones who are buying this the most.-_

 _..._

 _-Ate her own arm off-_

 _..._

 _-Many have had thoughts of suicide after taking this drug and even after when they come down from the extreme high Rock Salts give them. One person on YouTube made a video describing all that they are seeing and he described seeing people turning into_ demons _as well as hearing voices and having an urge to_ eat _their pet snake.-_

 _*kzzssssshhhhkt!*_

* * *

"Hay, Karma," Carmen turned to see her friend, Lydia, next to her open locker where she was grabbing her books for her next class. "You hear who's dating Mikaela?"

Carmen paused with a frown. "Isn't Trent dating her?"

Lydia shook her head, caramel colored hair swishing around her shoulders, with just a little too much excitement than what Carmen thought necessary. "That's the kicker though. Apparently she dumped him for some nerd named Sam Whiskey, or something like that."

Making sure to grab a mechanical pencil, Carmen closed her locker and turned to give her best friend her full attention. "Who?"

Lydia shrugged. "I don't know." She stood up from where she was leaning and began walking to her next class, not bothering to check if Carmen was following. "All I know is that she's dating a nerd who just got the _brand new_ Camaro." She turned to Carmen with a grin. "And since Miss Perfect dumped Trent, that means he's free for the picking."

Carmen let out a quite sigh. "I don't see what you find so 'amazing' about him. The guy's a jerk."

Her remark passed right over Lydia's head as she got a dreamy look in her stormy grey eyes. "Those beautifully sculpted muscles with those baby blue eyes and perfect tan..."

Carmen chuckled and rolled her hazel eyes. "Whatever you say, Juliet."

"Hey!" Lydia snapped out of her daydream and slapped her friend's arm. "Don't be mocking me."

Both seventeen year olds reached their next class, Language Arts, just as the warning bell rang through the school halls.

"Who said I was mocking you?" Carmen asked with a grin as they each took a seat at the back of the class.

Lydia pouted in her seat as students began pouring into the room at a steady pace. "I'm going to ask Trent to go out with me later."

"Erm, isn't the guy supposed to ask?"

Lydia turned to her. "Not always. Sometimes the girl is supposed to ask because the guy is too afraid. Like Trent for instance. It's very obvious that he's afraid of my feminine nature which is why he has yet to ask me so later today, I'm going to go up to him and ask him out."

Carmen gave a sad smile as she watched Lydia get the dreamy look again. She loved this girl next to her like family, but she was rather naive sometimes. Especially when it came to the school's quarterback, Trent DeMarco.

* * *

After school, the two were heading to the parking lot where Carmen's truck sat waiting.

"Has anyone asked you out to prom yet?" Lydia asked.

Carmen inwardly cringed. Ah yes, the dreaded prom. It was only a month and a half away and she wasn't looking forward to the dance one bit. It wasn't because she hated dancing, it was because of all the guys who were going. "Yeah, but I turned them all down."

Police sirens could be heard a few blocks away but neither paid any attention to it.

"What?!" Lydia practically shrieked. "Why would you do that? You're going to need a date if you're going to be going!"

Carmen reached up and finding a natural highlight of chestnut red among her collar length light brown hair, she began playing with it. "Because every guy that has asked me is only interested in a one-night stand and you know how I feel about those things," she shook her head with a sigh. "You know I like to dance, but-"

"But you can't to save your life no matter how hard you try," Lydia interrupted with a snicker.

Carmen gave her a glare as she let go of her hair and reached into her backpack for her keys. " _But_ ," she continued, "I don't like dresses and I will _never_ be caught dead in one. Besides, none of the guys here are my type." Grabbing her keys, she unlocked the truck and getting behind the steering wheel she tossed her bag into the backseat.

Lydia huffed as she got in and tossed her backpack in the back as well. "No guy is your type."

"I have a type thank you very much," she defended as she started her white truck and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then what's your type?"

Carmen froze as she pulled to a stop at a stop sign. She actually never thought about what type of guy she would like to be with one day.

"You hesitated," Lydia noted.

"What? No I didn't, I was just checking to make sure no cars were coming." She released the brake and pressed the gas but quickly had to pull over to the curb as an ambulance came down the street, blaring lights and sirens with two more police cars right behind it. "Geez, what's going on?" Carmen asked herself out loud as they passed and resumed driving.

Lydia shrugged. "I don't know, but you never answered my question."

Carmen sighed. "Fine. They have to be funny, nice body, great personality, like me for who I am, respect my wishes, and are caring... Also they have to have a great car. So how'd it go with Trent?" she asked, quickly getting the conversation away from her non-existent love life. Lydia crossed her arms over her chest and slouched in her seat in a pout, not saying anything. "That bad, huh?"

Lydia shook her head. "It's not that it went bad, he just wasn't around so I couldn't ask him."

"Well that must suck."

The truck lapsed into silence, the only noise coming from the country station playing quietly over the radio.

* * *

 **One month later**

"Mama! I'm home!" Carmen shouted as soon as she was in the door, having dropped off her friend at her own house five minutes ago.

"I'm in the kitchen!" She heard her mom call back.

Carmen walked to the back of the house and sat on a stool at the island in the kitchen with her backpack at her feet.

"How was your day?" her mom asked as she prepared their dinner.

Carmen let out a tired sigh. "Oh you know, the usual. Boring and the teachers dumped an assload of homework on us. It's like they all plot together on which days they should swamp us with homework and then sit back and watch as chaos ensues. Oh and Lydia still has an interest in my none existent love life." She added the last part as a second thought.

Her mom, Christine, laughed. "Oh it can't be that bad. I'm sure you get plenty of boys asking you out on a date."

Carmen's head hit the counter with a groan. "Not you too, mama!" Her mom chuckled as Carmen sat back up. "It's not that they aren't asking me out, it's the fact that the only ones to ask me are the ones who are interested in a one night stand only." She sighed. "Also I have that promise to Walter to keep."

Christine turned around to give her daughter a look. "You're still keeping that? How old were you when you made that? Nine? Ten?"

"I don't know. I think I was actually eleven, but that doesn't matter. I made a promise and I never break my promises; you should know that by now."

Christine smiled. "I do, and in this day and age, it's truly something special to be able to keep them. Why don't you help me with dinner?"

"Can't. Teachers are trying to kill me remember?" Carmen let out a heavy sigh and picked up her heavy backpack before moving upstairs, mumbling, "stupid teachers and their stupid homework," the entire way up.

Once in her room Carmen threw her backpack onto her bed and turned on her radio, trying to find a good station that was playing music to fit her mood but soon got frustrated as all she could find was reports of the terrorist attack on Mission City and that new drug that has popped up out of nowhere. Turning it off she instead opted for Pandora on her iPod since it was obvious no one was going to be playing anything anytime soon.

Now sitting at her desk with her homework in front of her, Carmen tapped her pencil and let her mind drift to the latest major news.

It might have been only a month after the attack on Mission City, but that didn't mean people have just forgotten about it. It was actually still fresh in their minds. No doubt the president or someone will make a memorial out of the day next year like they did with the Twin Towers.

Carmen let out a sigh. Her older brother, Walter, had been in the attack on Qatar and against all odds somehow managed to survive along with a handful of others and fought off the terrorists in Mission City and came back dirty and scraped but in one piece. When she tried asking about what happened in Qatar and who the terrorists were in the city, all Walter could say was that he wasn't allowed to tell anyone so she quickly dropped the subject.

The new drug, Rock Salts, the one that seemed to have appeared overnight, puzzled Carmen greatly. Usually that sort of thing appears gradually over time, but this one came out of nowhere and was immediately a hit and people were demanding more even though the side effects were terrible. How anyone could take something like that willingly was beyond her.

Carmen's phone rang and not bothering to see who it was she picked it up.

"Hello?" A scream erupted on the other end making her hold the phone away from her ear so there wouldn't be any damage later on.

"Oh my gosh, Carmen!" Lydia shouted over the line. "You're never going to guess who just asked me out to prom!"

Carmen let out an exasperated sigh before putting the phone back to her ear.

"Trent?"

"What? How'd you know?" she whined.

"You only never talk about him."

Lydia sighed. "Fine. What about you? You say yes to anyone yet?"

Carmen barked a laugh. "You should know that answer by now better than anyone. Besides, any guy that I like is Walter's friend and they're just bit to old for me."

"Ugh. You suck."

Carmen grinned. "Yeah, lollipops."

"What flavor?"

"Cherry."

Lydia laughed. "Well you talk to one of those hot military types into taking you to prom and I'll talk to you tomorrow about the results."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Carmen said with an eye-roll before hanging up.

She rubbed her hands over her face.

Prom was only a week away and Carmen wasn't looking forward to it at all. She just hoped one of her brothers friends was able to take her, but she couldn't see why they wouldn't say no since they were more like family to her. Or possibly her brother could take her...

Honestly she didn't care who it was so long as it wasn't one of the guys who were constantly trying to ask her even though she has repeatedly said no to them.

Another sigh escaped her lips.

All she had to do was make it past next Friday and she was good... At least until school started next fall and homecoming came, but hopefully she would have a boyfriend by then. That is if Walter would allow it.

* * *

The next week, the day before prom, Carmen and Lydia were sitting outside for lunch at a table talking when Lydia pulled out a small tinfoil package from her pocket.

"Look at what Trent gave me." Lydia said while shaking it to hear the contents shift around a bit.

"What is it?" Carmen frowned.

Lydia tore the package open. "Don't know. He just said something about rocks and saying it feels amazing after one sniff."

Carmen froze. "You're not by any chance talking about that drug Rock Salts?"

Lydia opened the package so she could see inside to see a grey-white powder. "That's it, why?"

Reaching over with no warning Carmen snatched the drug away from her friend, who quickly protested.

"What do you think your doing?" Lydia shouted as she made a grab for the pouch.

Carmen kept it out of her reach. "Keeping you from making the worst mistake in your life."

Lydia lurched forward and grabbed the pouch away from her friend, neither paying attention as some escaped in a small cloud. Carmen again grabbed the small pouch and some more of the drug escaped unnoticed, both unknowingly breathing it in.

"Stop trying to control my life!" Lydia shouted, but for some odd reason she sounded muted to Carmen.

"I'm not, I'm try... Trying to protects you..." Carmen's speech began to slur as the world shifted around her making her sway. She faintly heard a thud next to her turning she briefly saw Lydia on the ground on her back laughing at nothing before she too was pitching over onto the not so soft grass.

Carmen quickly forgot about her friend next to her and was more focused on the kaleidoscope of colors that the grass was turning. Soon the ground was pitching and rolling as if it suddenly turned into the ocean in the middle of a storm. She faintly heard someone shout something but paid them no heed as she rolled onto her back to see cotton candy clouds.

Just as she was about to reach up to grab some to eat, her body stiffened and felt like she was struck by lightning as electricity shot through her body. A face appeared over her, looking as if it came out of Hell and was easily the scariest thing she had ever seen. Carmen tried to scream but quickly found she couldn't as her jaw was currently locked in place.

Luckily for her, darkness quickly overtook her as she fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

 _*kzzssssshhhhkt!*_

 _-According to some sources, this new drug is highly addictive and dangerous, causing one to have severe hallucinations and can lead to them to go on a murdering spree, killing dozens of innocents including children.-_

...

 _-This guy just_ shoved _his arm into another guy's stomach and ripped out his kidney!-_

...

 _-Ripping a man apart with in-human strength-_

 _..._

 _-Nearly a year since the drug, Rock Salts, first came out and scientists are still no closer with coming up with a way to fight the long term side affects.-_

...

 _-An innocent bystander watched a gruesome scene between a mugger and an old man in his late eighty's._

 _"After getting shot in the chest, h-he just_ stoodup _! Then the old man stood up as if nothing happened a-and attacked the guy who shot him. H-he didn't have a chance to do anything before the old man wa-was on him and ripping his throat out with his_ teeth _and began eating him!"-_

...

 _-_ Nine _shots to take this woman down. The first eight to her chest did nothing to stop her and did little to faze her as she rushed to kill an officer. It wasn't until the ninth bullet to her head did she stop.-_

...

 _-More and more reports are coming in as people are attacking each other and eating each other.-_

...

 _-Is all that is happening because of the new drug?-_

...

 _-Panic consumes the world as society crumbles and governments collapse.-_

...

 _-Is this the end for the human race?_

 _*kzzssssshhhhkt!*_

A tall figure stood in the shadows as the news reports flashed in front of him on the many large screens, a grin spreading across their sharp features.

It was time to begin faze two...

* * *

 **As you can see, I have decided to completely rewrite this so I have a better idea of where I want this to go and what I want to happen. I'm not aiming for long chapters like with my other stories. This is just that one that has been floating around and needed to be written. As I write more of this the chapter might get longer, but no promises.**

 **If there are any mistakes, please let me know so that I can fix it. I typed about half of this on the app on my phone which is glitching** **so I might not have gotten all the mistakes.**

 **Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed the story so far! I hope to see you all in the next chapter! Don't forget to star, comment, and/or add to your reading list.**


	2. Chapter 1

_**Summery:**_ _ **(AU) Everything was as it should be with the world. That is until an unknown drug appears out of nowhere overnight and people all over the world are taking it. Only a few months of it being out, the world begins to dissolve into chaos as people begin to savagely tare each other apart with no mercy.**_

 _ **Of course Carmen wouldn't know anything that is happening around her since she fell into a coma.**_

 _ **Upon waking up from a coma, she finds the world around her is shattered. She now sees things and hears things making her believe she is insane. She isn't sure what is a part of reality or what is her imagination, but what she does know is real is those who die always come back...**_

 _ **As Carmen comes to grip with her new life and with what the future now holds in store for the human race, her and her friends have to find a cure before all life on earth ceases to exist.**_

 _ **If there even is a cure...**_

 ** _TF:ET_**

Darkness. It was all around her. Suffocating her with its inky blackness.

Carmen was afraid. Terribly afraid.

What if those monsters came back? The ones who haunt her and chase her for what has felt like an eternity before she eventually tired and collapsed from ghost exhaustion. The monsters would then be on her in seconds, devouring and tearing her apart.

What about the never ending maze like halls with the doors that held either hers or someone else's worst nightmare? As she wandered the halls, eerie music would play from an unknown source that was all around while nowhere at the same time. If Carmen opened the wrong door, than what was in the room would begin chasing her. She would try and hide in other rooms, but with the terror coursing through her, everything she saw would become her own nightmare and would proceed to chase her as well.

Another nightmare she had was in a carnival. It had everything a usual carnival would have from the rides to the game booths. Except in this one, a heavy fog clung to the ground while an eerie green-black glow was the only light around. Off-tune carnival music would play. Leaf-less trees with long skinny branches seeming to try and reach out to grab anyone who wasn't careful dotted the sides of the paths. The prizes one could win from the booths were covered in blood splatter, both fresh and old cracking, flaking. Some of the toys were so soaked with blood they were dripping with the crimson liquid. The roller-coasters were in ruins with skeletons sitting in a cart hanging perilously on the broken tracks.

Carmen would be walking along the main path all alone when she would hear a child laugh. When she would whirl around to see who it was, it was always the same. No one was there. She wasn't sure why, but no matter how hard she tried not to, she would enter the house of mirrors. Soon after maniacal laughter would sound from all around her. As she whirled around to try and find the source, blood stained clowns would appear in the mirrors and were gone once she blinked.

This would continue on until the laughter would suddenly stop and every time, Carmen turned around and found herself suddenly surrounded by dismembered children, both boys and girls missing either their intestines, eye, skin or limb, each one reaching out to her. Carmen would scream as they laughed and asked her to play with her as their fingers and teeth would suddenly sharpen into fine points. With a ear shattering scream she would run out of the house of mirrors, gaining scratches and cuts along the way in her flurry to get away from the demonic children. As she ran outside, more of the children would appear and try to grab at her while some who where missing their legs would swipe at her ankles. In a mad-dash, Carmen always found herself in the main tent with darkness all around her as a single beam of light shone down on her. More of the laughter would sound and with a blink a monochrome clown would suddenly appear before her and rip out her intestines and play with them. Somehow she managed to stay alive and conscious through all of the nerve shattering pain that filled her senses as he then proceeded to stuff her with hard candy. Only after his dark laughter filled her ears did everything around her begin to fade and she quickly found herself in yet another nightmare.

No matter what dream she had, it was always the same. There was some kind of monster or demon chasing her and in the end whatever was chasing her would catch up and eat her, oblivious to her screams as she cried out for her family to save her.

But one time... One time she didn't have a nightmare. One time she had a good dream. One with beautiful floating lights and a strange sounds of clicking and whirring. Carmen paid the sounds no heed and looked upon the brightly glowing orbs above her with aw, never wanting them to leave her because of the light they shone in the darkness around her. Each light making her feel safe as if she were wrapped in a blanket.

Each orb was a bright blue color and at first glance that is the only color she saw, but the longer she stared, the more color could be seen until each one had a faint but distinct color ranging from blue to yellow to black.

Much to her dismay the lights never returned, but that didn't mean she never looked for them as she ran.

At least they never appeared again until now.

Again they appeared high above her like a beacon of hope. Before they had a chance to disappear again, Carmen lurched up to grab one. Just as her fingers brushed over one, everything around her returned to darkness.

A sudden flash blinded Carmen and she quickly found herself gagging and choking on something lodged in her throat. Thinking it to be another nightmare, she tried to bring her hands up to rip whatever it was out but found her hands to be bound down to what appeared to be a bed, but her fear addled brain thought it was another torture table.

"Ratchet!" Someone shouted not to far away. They ran to her side and began trying to calm the frantic girl. "It's alright! You're safe!"

Not recognizing the man, Carmen began to fight more, all the while choking as she tried to force the tube down her throat out. Another man ran up and held one of her arms down and quickly jabbed a needle into her arm. Not long after, Carmen fell back into the world of darkness, but thankfully there were no nightmares this time, only darkness.

 ** _TF:ET_**

Those lights were back. Those beautiful colorful orbs that took away the suffocating darkness and provided her with comfort. Along with that odd clicking and whirring. This time though, Carmen could have sworn she could understand what those sounds meant... At least she did in the back of her mind for a brief second before it became just sounds again.

Afraid of being left alone again with the demons that haunted her mind, Carmen lurched forward to grab at the nearest one, a cherry red underneath the blue. Even though she didn't know what they were she just wanted something to keep the darkness away. She only wanted some form of comfort as the monsters repeatedly tear into her.

Her hands barely brushed against the orb before her vision flashed with a bright white light.

Carmen hissed as the ceiling lights blinded her as she awoke and found she was once again bound to the bed. She quickly shut her eyes, both to dim the light and so she wouldn't have to see what new horror was about to happen to her. Her heart quickened making the monitor attached to her beep faster.

As her heart sped up, pumping adrenaline through her, she began breathing faster, mind beginning to create its own horrors of what is going to happen.

The door opened and a few nurses came in.

"You need to calm down," a nurse said trying to sooth her patient in a calm voice. "Everything is alright."

After continuing her struggling for another few minutes Carmen began to calm down as she noticed she wasn't being torn into. Her heart rate was still high though as she silently waited, the only sounds coming from the frantic heart monitor. She watched with a heaving chest and wide, scared eyes when someone else, a man with a lab coat, enters the room.

"How are you feeling, Carmen?" the man asks while taking a step towards her with his hands held up, palms facing her.

She flinched as he neared, expecting this man to turn into a monster and devour her whole.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Dr. Ratchet." She didn't say anything eyeing him warily making him let out a quite sigh. "Look, you were in a comma for just over a year. I just want to make sure you are alright."

Carmen could only watch in fear, not being able to do anything but watch. She desperately wanted to break free and run from here as fast as she could. But she couldn't. The bonds were too strong and just struggling against the others was heard, wearing her out faster then it should have. It scared her just how weak she was in this nightmare.

That's when she saw it. Barely noticeable at first, but the more she stared, the easier it was for her to see it.

In this man's chest, Dr. Ratchet he called himself, was a light. It was a beautiful blue with hints of yellow, giving her the same comforting feeling as the ones she saw in her dreams. It beat like a heart and spun as if it hung from a string.

Much to everyone in the room's surprise the erratic lines that showed her vitals on the monitor slowed to what it should be, the insistent beeping stopping once her heart and breathing settled to an appropriate pace.

Carmen couldn't explain it. How was this possible? This same light from her dreams was right here in front of her making her feel safe. Her mind kept telling her to run, hide, to do anything to stay away from these people. But deep down she knew she was safe.

Ratchet sighs silently. "Good." He clicks on a penlight and flicks the light in her eyes. He dismissed the nurses as he ran some more tests on the now limp girl.

To say he wasn't surprises the girl recovered would be a lie. This girl had next to no chance of recovery and somehow she managed to wake up just as her condition was worsening. How was it possible? That drug should have turned her into one of them. It was only by a miracle that he was able to save her. One that even he wasn't sure how.

He tried saving many before her, but each one was a failure.

What was so different about her?

One of her arms jolted in its restraints making him sigh again. It would be a while till she was on her feet again, and who knew what kind of harm that drug did to her system. His scans only did and told so much.

 ** _TF:ET_**

 **XD Yes as a matter of fact I did put Laughing Jack in this. No, this does not mean he will appear later. Carmen is a fan of Creepypasta and has always had a small fear he would kill her in her sleep, thus creating the nightmare. Though it's been a while since I've listened to MrCreepyPasta (I think that's who it was) read the Laughing Jack vs. Jeff the Killer to remember how his carnival looks and I'm too lazy to go and try to find it, I decided to put down what I saw for a carnival of the dead** **instead.**

 **For the carnival part of Carmen's nightmare I found a soundtrack that fit perfectly and gave me a lot of inspiration. It's called** _Carnival of Lost Souls_ **by** _Nox Arcana_ **.** **Go** **check** **it** **out, it's** **pretty** **great. Also** **makes** **for** **some** **great** **Halloween** **party** **music.**

 **Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed the story so far! I hope to see you all in the next chapter! Don't forget to favorite, follow, and/or comment.**


	3. Chapter 2

Carmen's finger twitches as she scowls at the wall across from her. She didn't know how long she has been here but someone had told her, not including the year she was in a coma, that she had been here for about two months now.

Dammit she was bored. How the hell was she supposed to occupy her time when there was nothing to do and she was confined to the hospital wing of the base? She got that it was the end of the world and there was no cable and all, but couldn't someone have grabbed a movie? Seriously she could go for a cheesy 70's show or even a b rated horror movie right now. _Anything_ to get rid of this boredom!

What was worse was the fact that they weren't even letting her outside and she had no windows.

Reaching over she repeatedly pressed the nurses button. She was hoping for Dr. Ratchet every time she pushed the red button, but each time a nurse was always the one to come in. It was only a minute later of constant button pushing did someone finally come in.

"What can I do for you?" The nurse asks as he turns the call button off. The nurses were great at hiding their annoyance toward her, but no matter how hard they try she could still see it.

"Can I go see my brother?" Carmen asks as the nurse goes about cleaning her small mess.

He sighs, finishing up. "You know Dr. Ratchet doesn't want you outside the ward until he knows you're back up at one-hundred percent. I can call for your brother to come down here if you would like."

Carmen slumps with a whine. "When am I going to be allowed out? There's nothing to do around here!"

"I know, hopefully the doctor will clear you soon. I'll go call your brother." With that he left, closing the door behind him.

Carmen began dozing off when Walter finally arrived, waking up when the door clicked shut.

"Key kiddo," he ruffled her hair with a smile and sat down. She slapped his hand away with a scowl.

"When am I getting out of here?" She asks as she sits up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

Walter leaned back. "You know why, not until you're better."

"That's b.s. Walter, I feel fine. I can move around just fine and I haven't had a nightmare in weeks. Is this because it's the apocalypse? What kind even is it? Why isn't anyone telling me what's going on?!" She shouted with fists clenched. "And why won't anyone let me see Lydia? She must be worried sick about me!"

Walter waved his hands at her. "Calm down, Carmen." He sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "We're just trying to keep you safe."

"Keeping me safe would mean telling me what's going on so I can be prepared if anything happens! You always told me to have an exit strategy if something goes wrong, but how can I when I have no clue as to what's going on?"

"I know... I haven't said anything because of orders."

"Orders? So your orders are more important then you family?"

"It's not that! I only went along with them because it was keeping you safe!" He shouts, stopping any more argument from her. "You're one of the few civilians still alive on base and we want to keep it that way. Look, do you remember that drug, Rock Salts?"

"How could I forget it's what did this to me?" she says with an eye roll.

"Well Ratchet did some research and found that the drug removes what makes people, well people, leaving only the basic instincts and a few other things. To put it simply, it created zombies."

"Zombies? Walt, zombies aren't real except in movies. Now tell me what's really going on. It's the Biblical one isn't it?"

"No, Carmen. It's the zombie apocalypse."

"Fine, let's just pretend it is. So what of it?"

Walter sighs and leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers together. "Well, Lydia inhaled the drug, same as you, and was in a coma till a few months ago when she... When she turned into one. And mom..." His head fell. "We got to base when we were swarmed by them. A lot of people, both soldiers and citizens, didn't make it..." His shoulders begin to shake from trying to contain his tears. "Mom was one of them..."

Carmen sat in silence, mind working overtime trying to make sense of what she was just told. Standing up she began pacing the length of the room.

This obviously was a prank. Walter was always pulling them on her so why was now any different?

Or perhaps she was actually sleeping right now and this was just another nightmare? It was possible. She could never escape them no matter what the Doc gave her to keep them away.

No. This wasn't a nightmare. The monsters usually would have come out by now. Or perhaps these zombies were the monsters of this new nightmare? It was possible, but then they would have been breaking down the door and attacking by now.

She stops her pacing to grab her head and shook. None of this was making any sense! She knew she was fighting off the drug, her nightmares were the proof of that, but this was way out of the norm of the horrors her mind concocts. Never has any been about her family or friends dying. All the nightmares had been of her getting attacked. Not her mom, brother, not Lydia. On top of that none of them ever turned into the monsters.

A giggle bubbled up from her chest. That's it. She was just in a new nightmare. That had to be it. What else could explain everything that's going on? But... What if it actually did happen and he's telling the truth? Walter has never lied to her, not about something like this.

Walter watched his sister with worry as a crazed look came into her eyes accompanied by a small laugh. Even though he wanted to help her, there was nothing he could do. Not when she started getting like this. He could only watch her and make sure she didn't hurt herself.

Carmen's arms fell to her sides, limp. Her head bows till her hair covers her features. "It's true, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"Please go."

He stands silently and turns to leave, pausing with his hand on the door knob.

"Carmen," he spoke up, gaining his sister's attention. "Don't shut everyone out like you did with dad." The door clicked shut behind him.

The room falls into silence only for it to be broken by the sound of a shattering vase and a shout. She grabbed the table the vase sat upon and threw it into the off-white wall, putting a hole in the plaster. With some effort she flipped the bed spilling the mattress and blankets onto the floor. Not finding anything else to take her anger out on Carmen punches the wall, not stopping as the skin on her knuckles split and bleed. Not stopping until soldiers grab her arms and hold her down as she screams and kicks. She doesn't stop until she feels a prick in the crook of her arm and unconsciousness takes her.

* * *

Those lights were there again. But something was off with them. They were flashing, almost frantically, as they rushed about making those clicking sounds again.

What was going on?

One of them moved closer, this one beating faster then the rest. She couldn't explain why, but she just knew it was scared.

Why was it scared?

Without thinking about what she was doing she reaches forward and brushes her fingertips against the red orb. Almost instantly it calmed down. She felt a smile form when it moved closer to her hand till it was resting in her palm. Her other hand came up to cup the orb.

She wasn't sure why, but she just knew that this orb was more important than the rest.

* * *

 **Short, I know, but it was a good place to stop at.**

 **Thank you for your time and I hope you enjoyed the story so far! I hope to see you all in the next chapter! Don't forget to favorite/follow and comment.**


	4. Chapter 3

More time passed and she needed to escape from this place. By this point they were all just being over protective of her. She needed to get out of here and fast before she starts hurting the nurses. Carmen was now allowed to wander the halls for the past week and during that time she memorized the maze-like halls of the two stories of the medical ward.

She _needed_ to get out of here.

If she stayed in this stuffy place any longer she was bound to go insane. At least more so than already. She was fairly certain she didn't start seeing those lights or hearing them speak until after she woke up from a coma. Not to mention she was certain no one else could see them. Her brother asked if she was alright when she asked him about them, which she was thank you very much. She was just going stir crazy from being stuck inside with no windows for so long. How do they seriously expect her to get better when she has had absolutely _no_ sun for the past few months? To make matters worse she was the type of person who couldn't stand being in one place for so long, so to keep her here in one place? They're insane.

Which was why she ditched her 'escort' and was now sneaking through the medical ward.

It was rather easy since security was lax in this place which was weird to her. If what her brother had told her was true, about the world having ended, than didn't it make sense to post more guards in here? Or were most of them outside where she had yet to explore? In any case, she was about to find out.

Reaching the door she wanted, Carmen took the key-card she swiped earlier and passed it through the card reader. When the small red light changed from to green, the double doors swung open in opposite directions. As soon as a space big enough for her to slip through opened, she passed through and pressed herself against the wall on the other side.

When the doors swung back closed and no one came running, she let out a relieved sigh. So far so good, but she couldn't let her guard down just yet, not when she was so close to freedom.

But first...

She closed her eyes and let out a breath and concentrated. Before her inner eye she was able to bring up where each of those floating lights were, however her sight was on one in particular. The red one. She needed to see what exactly it was. For some reason, out of all the others, that one felt the most important to her. She had to know why. Why was it so special and what did the colors mean? And what were they saying to each other in that odd clicking and whirring language? She had to know.

Opening her eyes, she looks down the surprisingly empty hall. Maybe it was the middle of the night or everyone was on a lunch break? It was hard to tell the time with no windows around and the wall clocks not saying if they were AM or PM. Closing her eyes once more, she located the red orb.

Walking down empty halls, she didn't stop unless to make sure no one was around before turning a corner or to check where the glowing red orb was located.

She didn't know how long she had been searching for it, but at some point it moved. It was closer now, but she had to alter her course if she wanted to get to it.

Time passed, as well as a few close calls and several dead ends, but eventually she reached a large hanger with a few people milling about on the other side, their voices a hushed whisper. Some were also on high catwalks lined with computers, hunched over the screens. On the ground there were various amounts of armored vehicles commonly seen on a base. It didn't surprise Carmen to see them there though since this _was_ a military base. However what surprised her were the civilian vehicles spread throughout the hanger. Not just any civilian cars she might add, but expensive ones that would cost her an arm, a leg, and then some. There was also the fact that in each one was a glowing orb of varying hues that she no longer had to close her eyes to see.

What drew her attention though was the silver Corvette Stingray with a floating blue light, with a red undertone, right in the middle of where the engine rests, sitting there only ten feet from her. All other people and lights were forgotten as she slowly walks towards it.

"Hey!" A voice shouts, snapping her out of her trance. She blinks as she realizes she's leaning on the hood of the car, fingers brushing the hood right above the orb.

Strange, when had she gotten there?

Someone grabs her upper arm in a tight grip and forces her back away from the car. Panic grips her heart. Instinct taking over, she lashes out and punches the man square in the nose. As soon as his grip loosens, she darts around to the other side of the car and sits with her back pressed to the car. Her chest heaves for breath as her body begins to shake, eyes wide as a cold sweat forms.

Calm down. She had to calm down. This wasn't a nightmare. It couldn't be, not with those orbs surrounding her. She pinches her arm only to wince. Yup, definitely real. Or not, she wasn't sure since she still felt pain in her dreams, but there weren't any monsters yet so that had to be a good thing, right?

"What's going on over here?" Another voice asks from further away.

Deciding it was best for her to stay put and be silent, Carmen remained still while she willed her heart to cease racing, taking deep breaths.

"I saw that kid that was being kept in the med ward and she just punched me," a nasally voice says.

"What?!" a third voice speaks up, this one she recognizes as her brother. "What the hell is she doing out? Where is she?"

"Back off," another voice interjects. "She's fine."

"She's fine? What about me?" the first guy asks. "I think she broke my nose."

The second voice sighed. "Where is she?"

Without another word Walter walks into her sight. "What are you doing there, Car?" he asks as he crouches next to her.

By now her shivers are gone and she's able to look him in the eye.

"I wanted to see them. The lights," was all she said.

This makes him frown. "What lights?"

"The floating orbs."

His frown deepens. "You're not making any sense, Car. What floating orbs?"

She blinks in confusion. "You can't see them?" He shakes his head. It was her turn to frown as she points towards the red hued orb in the Corvette. "But it's right there. How can you not see it?"

Walter shakes his head. "I don't know. Why don't we go back to the medical ward where we can figure it out together." He offers with his hand held out to her. Carmen was quick to shake her head no. Anywhere but there. He sighed. "Look, you can't stay here and we don't have anywhere for you to stay." He reaches forward to grab her hand.

She immediately jerks away from him. "No! I can't go back there! Please don't make me back. No one except the nurses visit me and it gets lonely," she says quickly. Upon Walter freezing, a look of guilt crossing his features, she continues. "The only company are the lights who talk through clicking and whirring. They don't notice me, but that's fine. Their lights are pretty and keep me distracted. Also they make me feel less alone."

By now all those in hearing range were frozen by what she said.

"Hey, Walt'," the fourth voice spoke up from behind her. Whirling she saw a man with brown hair and startling blue eyes wearing a black shirt with a silver jacket and dark blue jeans leaning against the back of the car, staring at her. What drew her attention though was a smaller version of the blue-red light from the car next to her floating in his chest right where his heart should be. "She has a point. With all that's been going on, no one has the time to visit her like they should. Me and the others can take care of her easy enough."

Walter stands up to scowl at the new man. "And what if there's another herd that manages to get in again?" He shakes his head. "No, the best place for her to be is in the medical facility."

"On the contrary," A new voice speaks up, gaining Carmen's attention. She looks to see a man with dark brown hair and the same startling blue eyes wearing a blue shirt with a red jacket and blue jeans walking up to them. Her eyes locked onto his chest where he too had a floating orb of light, this one having a lighter red with swirls of blue. Somehow this one shone brighter than the other lights she saw. "She will be safer with us where one of us can drive her out of danger's path as soon as a threat arises."

"But what if you can't?" He shakes his head. "No, those things can't get that far into the building making it the safest place for her."

"While I admire you trying to protect your family, what you are doing will only bring more harm in the future. By keeping her away from the world she will loose the ability to protect herself when the need arises."

Walter clenched his fists and remained silent. His sister watching him, silently asking for him to consent. She wanted desperately to stay with the lights, but she knew it would all depend on her brother's choice. Finally he spoke.

"Fine, but only so long as she stays with one of you at all times," he consented reluctantly.

"I can keep an optic on her," the one in the silver coat interjected.

Walter nodded. "If I find out she's wandering around without you or anyone else than it'll be the last thing you do."

Silver raised his hands in surrender. "Got it, chief."

"Also you guys are responsible for her discovering just what outside is like." With that said he once again knelt down in front of Carmen. "I need you to stay with these guys, alright, Car? It's not safe without them around."

Her eyes drift down to the pistol on his right hip and knife on left. "Does this have something to do with you always being armed? I haven't seen you without those since waking up."

"Yeah," he says sadly. "Now can you promise me?"

She nods and holds up her pinky finger. "I promise."

A small smile spreads across Walter's face as he hooks his own pinky with hers and shakes their hands up and down. "It's a promise. Remember not to break it or-"

"Or Broken Promise will come to get me, I know," she smiles back.

He releases her finger to place a hand on her head and ruffles her hair. She swatted his hand away with an annoyed protest.

He chuckles and stands up. "I'm late for patrol, don't give them too much of a hard time, alright?"

"I won't."

With that said she watches him leave till he disappeared through a small door on the other side of the building next to the large closed hanger doors.

"Carmen, was it?" The one with the swirling red and blue light speaks up. She turns to him and nods. He sits down across from her as she leans back against the warm metal of the Corvette. "My name is Optimus Prime and this is Sideswipe," he motions to the man with the red light.

The man, Sideswipe, gave a lazy wave with a smile in response.

"Hi." She gave a small wave in return with a small smile.

Her heart began pacing faster. Somehow, without trying, she gained the attention of two of the lights. She wasn't sure what exactly she would do once she found the red one, or what would happen. She hoped she didn't anger them by being here. But then again, the red and blue swirling one said that she could stay with them so maybe she didn't anger them?

"Carmen?" Her attention was brought back to Optimus. "Can you tell us about these lights you see?"

"Sure, what do you wanna know?"

"When did you first start seeing them?"

"When I was sleeping," was her immediate response. "At first it was only when I was dreaming, but now I can see them when my eyes are closed." She looks down at her fingers and plays with them, a light pink tinge dusting her cheeks. "And now... Now that I'm right next to them, I don't need to close my eyes."

He nods. "What do they look like?"

She scratches her cheek and looks up. "Well, each one is different. They're all blue though, with a color underneath." She turns to look at Sideswipe, who by now had sit next to her with a knee up and arm resting on said knee. "Yours is red, like a cherry red." She turns to Optimus. "And yours is red too, a little darker than his, with swirls of blue. But there's something else only yours has that none of the other's do." She squints at his light, trying to find just what is so special about his. Then she sees it. "There's a gold light, a really, really small one, but it's there, right in the middle of your light." It was mesmerizing if she was being honest. She tilts her head in thought. "But I've never seen it in any of the other lights, so why does just yours have it?"

Optimus shifted and shared a look with Sideswipe as she stared at his chest.

"I do not know," the Prime speaks up after a moment of silence. "Perhaps we can figure that out together?"

Carmen finally looks him in the eyes again with a huge grin. "That'd be awesome."

* * *

 ***Evil laugh* I made a reference to my CP** **OC, Broken Promise.**

 **Not much to say here other than I hope you enjoyed the story thus far. I'm trying to make this as realistic as possible so tell me if I'm doing good or bad about that please. Also I've been working on Optimus' character so I hope I'm getting him right. He's always been a bit tough for me.**

 **I started college back in October and since it's an accelerated course I get two weeks of homework per class in each class. Right now there's only two classes, but that's still about four weeks of homework so needless to say I'm swamped with homework. Needless to say writing has been at the furthest reaches of my mind right now.**

 **This was actually chilling out for a while now in my drafts. I'm actually in class right now so what better time to proofread and post XD It's human biology and we're learning about cell reproduction -you know the ones we learned about in high school- so I'm not paying attention in the slightest since I already know today's lecture. I could go on a rant on how so far nothing in this class is on actual human biology. Its been nothing but cells -_-**


End file.
